Words: Garrin Faturrahman
Photo: 88rising

Before you roll your eyes and sneer with a ‘Oh, tell me something new!’ We both know how Thailand has always been the place for anything creative and expressive—from the successful (both commercially and tear-shedding-ly) films, their musicians playing in major music festivals, to the countless Thai restaurants which have something to do with their government’s gastrodiplomacy maneuvers.

However, seeing it firsthand really did put things into perspective (and also as a wake up call) of those achievements mentioned before. During those days where we had a direct and participatory engagement with the scene in Thailand, our professional sightseeing were all facilitated by the major force themselves—88rising. There, we were introduced to their new music distribution and culture platform, Future Asian Music, their helping hand in THACCA, and the culmination of their Levi’s®-backed tour, Road to FAM.

By talking with 88rising’s Marketing Lead, Angela Chiu, we had an up close and personal look at how Thailand is really shaping up to be the ecosystem built for aspiring and thriving musicians, all which has a lot to do with 88rising, Future Asian Music, and their collaborators.

88rising has grown immensely tall from its humble beginnings as a hub for Asian artists, which this spirit lives on and quadruples to this day—even becoming a home for many Asian artists and fans alike.

Thank you for the intro, and for coming to join us at Road to FAM & FAM Studios at Cloud11 in Bangkok!

Some of your top hits hailed from Indonesia, but it was argued that the state of things around Indonesia are merely just for foreign artists to farm engagement—whenever content creators mention anything remotely Indonesian, engagements go up. How does 88rising continue to promote quality works/contents without reducing it as an engagement bait for the Indonesian market?

With Rich Brian and NIKI, they rose to the global scene with their voice and genuine lived experience as youth in Indonesia. Their points of view resonated globally, and we were able to amplify that.

Authentic stories like this are beyond click-bait and we can see that authenticity is once again resonating with Indonesia and beyond through our latest group no na—who, although just launched, are sharing a unique perspective on girl groups and are expanding that definition based on their Indonesian heritage.

After the trip, we now see Bangkok in a different light—local musicians conditioning themselves to their fullest, the ecosystem supporting everyone along the way, and all in all, the creative scene is blooming. Thailand is shaping up to be a major force in the Southeast Asian (and maybe global) creative scene. How did 88rising see this coming?

We’ve been working behind-the-scenes on the Road to FAM and FAM Studios at Cloud11 project for quite some time, so we were just as excited to bring this insight forward to you and others during the trip. 

Part of the recent foresight comes from our collaboration with THACCA (Thailand Creative Culture Agency), but also our continued involvement within the Thai music and entertainment industries.

Dani Chae, 88rising’s Creative Producer, on stage with Verbal, member of M-Flo, CEO of AMBUSH Inc., and Director of International Development at LDH Japan. (Image via 88rising)

We’ve been working with Thai artists for quite some time – notably MILLI, who headlined the Road to FAM finale show in Bangkok during her second album launch, and right after a performance at Head in the Clouds LA. She’s extremely talented and has been going viral time and time again—putting her country on the map to showcase what Thailand has to offer in terms of creativity. 

With that said, what separates Thailand apart from other neighboring Southeast Asian countries?

Thailand’s influence in entertainment has been rapidly growing. In music, the rise of T-POP has drawn comparisons to the early days of K-pop’s global breakout—led by acts like 4EVE, BUS, and PiXXiE—while Thai cinema and streaming dramas continue to earn international praise, getting increased investment from large streaming platforms in Thai content. Not to mention, Thai artists are gaining traction on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, signaling a clear shift in global attention. 

Along with our recently announced joint venture with XOXO Entertainment off the back of our collaboration with 4EVE to release their first global EP Glow, you also have K-pop and J-pop powerhouse labels starting their own joint ventures with Thai music labels for the same reasons.

Thailand’s Soft Power Policy seems to play a big part in 88rising’s agendas, business-wise and creative-wise. May we know just the extent of what a supportive government could bring to young talents and the creative ecosystem?

We can certainly speak to our involvement in the process of bringing Road to FAM and FAM Studios at Cloud11 to light with the support of THACCA. When THACCA reached out to us to create the Official Music Program for Splash: Soft Power Forum 2025, their ambition was to highlight Thailand and Bangkok as a space for creativity and growth in the music sector.

We felt the honor and responsibility to help bring regional talent alongside local artists to the forefront, leveraging this moment that THACCA has created to highlight industries such as music—amongst many other sectors.

With their support, we were able to access and turn the unique and iconic Hua Lamphong Train Station (a working train station that is over 100 years old) into a concert venue for the first time in history. They also connected us to partners like Brite Panther who helped us produce the event, and creative park Cloud11, who have a common vision to bring global creative resources to ignite local youth communities.

We were able to launch FAM Studios at Cloud11, where we invited 15 regional emerging artists (both FAM and external to FAM) to Bangkok to connect, collaborate, network, and create content for their artist toolkits – all with Bangkok as a creative backdrop. Grammy-winning producer and songwriter James Fauntleroy was also there to host a workshop with the eager next generation—it was magic to see it all happen and unfold in real life.

These are just examples of what can happen in these types of collaborations that have the support of a policy like Soft Power.

However, collaborations are also a defining initiative as of late, and Southeast Asian talents have embraced this unity in their crafts too. How does 88rising bridge this effort throughout the Southeast Asian music scene?

Through our Road to FAM initiative, we wove a path through Southeast Asia to put a spotlight on talent in Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta with the support of Levi’s to create this multi-city music series.

The idea was to have selected artists who have found success in their hometowns to put on a show locally and unite in Bangkok for the finale event, joined by other local talent. We take pride in curating spaces for artists to connect, whether it’s through initiatives like Road to FAM, Head in the Clouds, or 88rising Futures at Coachella. Oftentimes, aside from the internet, shared spaces where artists connect eventually form the basis for future collaborations.

FAM Studios at Cloud11 possesses the means for talents to create content to supplement their creative journeys. From your point of view, and with regards to the current landscape, how far does social media content hold importance in the journey of musicians?

As a company who has experienced many viral moments thanks to social media, social media can definitely be a huge catalyst in an artist’s journey.

Beyond sharing their music, artists now have to put themselves out there on social platforms, collaborate with other artists, podcasts, interview platforms, viral content creators, etc., to compete with the algorithms.

With generations living on screen, they want to access these intimate experiences, however bite-sized—and you never know exactly which random moment(s) will pop off and reach new audiences. It may not be a direct fan conversion, but social media is an integral part of the discovery process these days.

Say, will there be anything bearing resemblance to FAM Studio at Cloud11 from you guys to be brought down here in Jakarta?

Never say never… 

Can we have some industry insights whether or not aspiring local musicians still have a chance in the life of a musician with 88rising?

Of course. This is one of the main reasons why we created FAM, to service early-stage artists and be able to offer guidance, mentorship, and our network to bridge the next generation with current music icons. We’re in our infancy, but we are excited at what’s to come—and with the number of artists onboarded during our soft-launch period, we are seeing evidence that this kind of platform is much needed to support the future of asian music.